Allington, Kent

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Allington is an almost entirely modern village situated on either side of the A20 road west of Maidstone in Kent. It is part of the built-up area of Maidstone.

The name Allington, which is shared by another place of the same name near Lenham, is derived from the Old English tun farmstead; it comes via eleventh-century Elentun and was connected with a man called Ælla.

Its main claim to history is Allington Castle, which was originally built in the 11th century. In 1281 the present stone castle was built, which was converted to a mansion in the 15th century. In 1492 the castle came into the possession of the Wyatt family By the mid 19th century it was derelict, but was restored in 1905; in 1951 it was taken over by the Carmelite order. Today it is owned by Sir Robert Worcester as a private residence and is not open to the public.

The few dwellings around the castle had a population of 49 in 1841. There was a church dedicated to St Laurence which closed in 1969. In the modern village is a modern parish church dedicated to St Nicholas, the second to be built on the site. Furnishings from St Lawrence's are used here.

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